SOURCE: History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. (Chicago, IL: Lewis, 1893), p. 361-362.

James B. Muldrow, of Baileyville, Milam county, Texas, is really an interesting character. He came to Texas about 1848, at this time being young, ambitious and adventurous. The war between the United States and Mexico was just closing, and General Scott was on his way from Vera Cruz to the capital city, storming everything in his path. Our young subject thought that he would like to become a hero also and thus share in the triumph of the Federal arms, and accordingly enlisted and was mustered in at Mobile, Alabama. Here he kept waiting orders to join the army in the field, but the orders never came, as no more troops were dispatched to that country, and hence no military glory from that war belonged to our subject.

Mr. Muldrow came to Texas by water. He boarded a vessel named the Yacht at New Orleans bound for Galveston, but at the mouth of the Mississippi river the boat collided with a small vessel and was disabled. After a delay of fifty hours the Palmetto came along and carried the passengers of the wrecked schooner to their destination, putting our subject on land in time for a good Christmas dinner at the old Tremont house in Galveston, in 1847. The father of Mr. Muldrow had preceded him to Texas by three years, and was located in Grimes county, whither he also went and engaged in overseeing. In 1851 he found himself in Washington county, similarly occupied, and here he remained one year, and in 1853 he brought a lot of cattle to Milam county and placed them on a range, returning to Grimes county. Son he again became an overseer, discontinuing this business only when he took up his residence in Milam county in 1858. He continued in the stock business, barring the war period, until 1872, when he closed out to Travis Pool and removed to Hamilton county, Texas, and began the improvement of a farm on the Cow House. The country was wild and sparsely settled, and the Indians were dangerously near and on the war path, and hence Mr. Muldrow returned with his family to Milam county in the fall of the same year, and since then he has not moved. He is the owner of 705 acres of land, 190 acres of it being in cultivation, and cotton being his favorite crop. In 1891 he produced thirty-four bales, and the same the following year.

In 1863 our subject volunteered for service under the flag of the Confederacy, in Captain McNalley?s scouts, in Green?s brigade, and Louisiana and Arkansas were the States in which the command operated for the most part. When General Taylor was ordered to Mobile our subject was selected with seventeen others to go as an escort. They were forced to attempt swimming the stock across the Mississippi, and in the attempt our subject lost his horse and baggage. In 1864 Captain McNalley's scouts with those of Captain Terry were on the Little Missouri river, and from there they were ordered to Nacogdoches, Texas, and a short time later were debanded at Brenham.

Mr. Muldrow was born in Wilcox county, Alabama, April 30, 1824. His father, William Muldrow, was a South Carolinian by birth, from Darlington district. He was a farmer and died in 1854, at the age of sixty-six. His first wife was a Miss Thompson, by whom he two children: Sarah, who became the wife of J. M. Burgess; and Rebecca, who married first Robert McCanse, and the second time Jesse Odom. For his second marriage Mr. Muldrow married Martha Stanley, and by his second marriage Mr. Muldrow had the following children: Elizabeth, deceased, married James C. Slead; James B., subject; Martha, deceased, married Samuel Windom; William, deceased; and Mary, deceased. Mrs. Muldrow died in 1844.

The grandfather of our subject was named James Muldrow, a native of South Carolina, and he was about sixteen years of age when the war of the [American] Revolution closed, and remembered well those trying times, and delighted to relate tales of those days. Six of his brothers were of the patriot band. James Muldrow married Miss Hines and had eight children, six girls and two boys. The subject of this sketch married, December 5, 1949, Henrietta D. Zimmerman, the daughter of William F. Zimmerman of Washington county, formerly from Darlington district, South Carolina; one child was born in this union, Joseph B., who is now a resident of Milam county. The mother died May 15, 1854; and his second marriage occurred December 19, 1860, to Miss Louisiann Holloway, a daughter of J. S. Holloway of Louisiana, who married Mary Martin and had seven children. By this second marriage Mr. Muldrow became the father of James Robert, William E. and Samuel T. The family belongs to the Baptist Church, in which Mr. Muldrow has been Clerk.